A Braddy Cow, Local Historians, old Santa letters and rare book finds in a charity shop.

 Church Street, Listowel

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The Braddy Cow

( The word braddy comes from the Irish bradach, a bó bradach was the thieving cow who was forever breaking into the neighbours pastures)

The following extract is taken from Jim Costelloe's great rural memoir of Asdee in the 1940's and '50s

Every herd of cows- although I doubt if the few short horn cows we had could be called a bawn- had a leader. When given the task of minding the cows she had to be supervised at all times. After all she was the inquisitive one and led the others around the boundary ditches when they were first let in to the aftergrass. While most of the cows were content to feed on the new grass which was a feast in comparison to the bare grazing fields, the braddy cow chose to roam around the field and, of course, she had to inspect the tilled area. The important part of minding the cows was to prevent any of them from getting a taste of the garden. Once the cows got the first taste of the growing turnips or cabbage at all, the job was twice as hard. The forbidden fruit was all that was on their minds after tasting the garden produce and the aftergrass, while welcome, was only to be eaten when the animals were prevented from going into the garden.

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My Fellow Local Historians

I met Charlie Nolan and Jer. Kennelly in The Square. Charlie is the greatest supporter of Listowel Connection bar none and without Jer. I wouldn't have half the great stories from the papers or photographs. It is always a pleasure to meet these two gentlemen. We are ploughing the same furrow, preserving the stories, the sights and the memories. We are  keepers of the flame.

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A Listowel Supplement to The Kerryman in 1994

A blog supporter found this great old paper and he gave it to me to share. I'm sure these girls will be thrilled to see their innocent letters to Santa reproduced here. School off for two months, Helen!

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On Being a Nana

I enjoy a privilege not granted to everyone. I have lived long enough to get to know my grandchildren.

These are three of my five grandchildren. I got to spend a day with them recently when they had a day off as their school was being used as a polling station for the presidential election.  Here we are on Station Road, Ballincollig on our way to the shops.

Then this happened. We hit the Balance charity shop in Ballincollig on the day that some Beano lover had donated his old stash of comic albums. Róisín loves nothing better than a vintage comic. She literally danced and leapt around the shop when I bought the lot. This has to be one of my best days as a Nana.

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In Lixnaw, the cradle of Kerry hurling, they are celebrating

Photo from Twitter

Farm tasks in the 1940s, O'Connell's Ave. grotto and More from Storied Kerry Meitheal in Killarney

Evening in the Small Square

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Out of the Blue

This is the beautifully repainted Catch of the Day. Blue seems to be the favourite colour of shop owners for 2018.

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Tough Tasks on the Farm

The following extract is taken from Jim Costelloe's great rural memoir of Asdee in the 1940's and '50s

Anyone who has spread fertilizer by hand from a bucket will surely agree it was a horrible task. One’s face, eyes and clothes were covered with the basic slag when finished. The worst part was the taste in the mouth as a lot of it went down our throats. Face masks were never used and our lungs must have been congested judging by the amount that went up our nostrils and into our mouths.

Another unpleasant and tough task in my youth was trying to light the kitchen fire with bad turf and wet sticks on a cold frosty morning. Without the fire there was no heat whatsoever in the house and no way of boiling the kettle for a sup of tea.

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The Grotto

I love it when this happens. I take a picture and I post it on here. It evokes a memory for someone or someone goes and looks up the history and they share it with us here in Listowel Connection. It's a bit like how Facebook used to work.

Marie Nelligan Shaw wrote; "Remember well when the grotto at the junction of O’Connells Avenue was blessed and dedicated. The yellow house on the right of the photo was occupied by a lovely lady named Mrs Collins. She took very good care of it while she lived."

And Jer Kennelly found this;  

Kerry Champion 14 August 1954

Consecration of Listowel Shrine erected at O’Connell’s Avenue, Listowel. Erected by voluntary labour. Statue and railings were donated. Subscriptions were mainly from the residents, all the organising committee are from the Avenue. (See paper for full report, blessing on Sunday next)

Kerry Champion 21 August 1954

Beautiful Grotto at O’Connell’s Avenue was blessed by P J Canon Brennan, P.P. V.F accompanied by two curates Frs Dillon and Moore. Windows in the avenue were also decorated. 

Kerry Champion 1928-1958, Saturday, September 04, 1954; Section: Front page, Page: 1

Bishop’s Visit to Listowel

Most Rev. Doctor Moynihan, Bishop of Kerry visited Listowel on Friday evening last and went to O’Connell’s Avenue to see the Marian Year shrine which has been erected there. His Lordship was accompanied by Canon Brennan who blessed the shrine on August 16^th last.

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Storied Kerry

Storied Kerry is the brainchild of Frank Lewis. He gathered together a meitheal of Kerry people to start this new story in the life of Kerry on Saturday, October 27 2018.

The stories told  on Saturday were all excellent. They were told in the old style with a one person storyteller and an attentive audience. Above is master story teller, Seán Lyons, who regaled us with a Halloween appropriate tale, set in a graveyard. It was a story about motivation. If you fall into a newly dug grave at Halloween there is no better motivator  to get you out again than meeting up with the previous occupant.

Storytellers, Batt Burns and Frances Kennedy were there.

Part of the North Kerry contingent, Frances, Joe Murphy and Mary Kennelly

Frances told us a tale of smelly feet and smelly breath in her unique and always entertaining style.

Frank and Joe share a funny moment.

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Ireland's Fittest Families

For people reading this who don't live in Ireland, Ireland's Fittest Family is a reality tv show on RTE, in which families of four adults compete against each other in gruelling army boot camp like tasks. Each week one family is eliminated until we are left with Ireland's fittest family. The families are mentored by well known retired sports personalities.
The Listowel connection is the involvement of Roibeard Pierse and his three children in this year's contest.
The programme started airing on TV on Sunday October 28 2018 and the Pierse family which the programme calls The Pierses did very well.
The photo above is from the programme's Facebook page and below is what they say about The Pierses;

From Kerry, the Pierses are making a bid for a win for the Kingdom. Father Riobard (50) works as a solicitor and is a keen runner, focusing on 5ks. He also co-founded the Listowel park run and is the manager of Cliona’s Listowel Emmets u16 ladies team.

His son Oran (20) became the U18 Munster Cycling Champion in 2016. Has also won the Senior Kerry Road Race League and raced internationally for the Munster Team.

His brother Ciarán (18) Plays Gaelic football with UL freshers team and Listowel Emmets seniors. A good leader himself, he captained Listowel to victory in the minor county league in 2017 and has played in two All-Ireland finals in the community games. Cliona (15) does one better, having taken part in the All-Ireland community games finals five years in a row in athletics, Gaelic football, soccer and futsal twice. She also plays soccer with the Listowel Celtic team. 

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A Tender Moment

This has to be one of the nicest photographs from the recent presidential election. I dont know who took it.

In the horrible bruising campaign for the Presidency of Ireland in 2018, when even the candidate's dogs were dragged into the carnage, Sabina Higgins was the loyal, dignified and loving presence by her husband's side. She is everything I would want in a first lady.

Central Hotel, the next Sonny Bill, Looking after the potatoes in Asdee and a Meitheal to launch Storied Kerry

William Street Upper


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Maid of Erin, Main Street

This building in Listowel's Main Street has one of Pat MacAulliffe's best known works on its shopfront. Hardly a day goes by without some tourist stopping to photograph this symbol of Listowel.
Below are some of the details on this intrinsically Irish stucco.

Irish wolfhound

Shamrocks and celtic knot work surround the slogan which translates as Ireland forever.

A round tower

Under the rising sun the bare chested maid is resting on an Irish harp, the official symbol of Ireland. The rising sun at "Fáinne Geal an Lae" is an often used republican symbol of the dawn of a new day for Ireland. A warrior woman as in Dark Rosaleen or Caitlín Ní Houlicháin is also a frequently employed symbol for a free Ireland.

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Do You Remember Sonny Bill?

If your answer to the above question is no, move right along, please. Nothing to see here.

If the answer is yes, Sonny Bill was that beautiful horse that they had at my home place in Kanturk and who was eventually sold on to an English buyer. He is now enjoying a stellar career across the Irish Sea.

This beautiful foal, seen above running with his mother, is Sonny Bill's last full brother. Sadly, their dad has passed away so there is a great weight of expectation on these young shoulders. 

He is still with his birth family but will be coming to his new home soon at the EPA stable . It's not really possible to tell if he will be as good as his brother but watch this space and I'll update you if he begins to realise his potential.

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 Looking after the Potato Pit

The following extract is taken from Jim Costelloe's great rural memoir of Asdee in the 1940's and '50s

The potatoes were stored in long pits in the kitchen garden beside the house when I was young. There were Kerrs Pinks and Golden Wonders for human consumption in a small pit, but the long pit was of Aran Banners for the farm animals and the domestic fowl. These pits were covered with straw and rushes to protect the potatoes from the winter frost. With the coming of Spring growth, the potatoes began to sprout and if left untouched they would grow long stalks, get soft and lose their nutrition. To prevent this from happening they would have to be turned. The work was done by hand and it entailed stripping the cover off the pit and rubbing the sprouts off each potato individually before repitting the whole lot.

The job is always done on a day following a night of grey frost. That was always a sunny day with a bit of drying and also, there was generally no threat of rain. Down on one knee handling thousands of potatoes on a frosty date is not the most exciting of jobs. The cold east wind and the damp semi hard ground added to the discomfort. The only exciting thing about it was the stripping of the rushes and straw where we suspected rats were hiding. The scurrying of the rats and our attempts to kill them with pikes  are memories now. How those same rats would destroy a pit of spuds if left unhindered is amazing. Rodine was a rat poison in those days and was very effective.

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Storied Kerry

Storied Kerry is a movement you will be hearing lots more about from now on. It is a drive to preserve and celebrate our stories, all our stories and all forms of story telling to all kinds of audiences.

On Saturday last, October 27 2018 Frank Lewis, the founder of Storied Kerry gathered together a Meitheal in Killarney to get this show on the road.

This man is Rory Darcy, a school principal, a philosopher, a story teller and, as we discovered later, a marathon runner.  Rory welcomed us to his school, St. Oliver's national School, Ballycasheen, Killarney.  St. Oliver's has pupils from many different countries on its rolls. It welcomes and celebrates them all. There were flags of all the countries behind Rory as he spoke to us and he told us of an initiative started in St. Oliver's and now practiced in many Killarney schools were the parents of the children, some of them from refugee centres help out with meals in the school and the children get to talk to and interact with a diverse group of parents as well as fellow pupils.

Behind Rory also there was a fish tank. This tank is a kind of symbol of what St. Oliver's stands for. There are fish of all shapes, colours and sizes in the tank. There are big bubbles helping to keep them alive. These are big acts of kindness but there are also lots of tiny bubbles, standing for small little acts we do to help each other out. The story of St. Oliver's was a lovely way to start the day.

The next treat for us was a performance from Siamsa Tíre's seminal show, Fadó, Fadó. It was pure magic. I'm definitely going to see the full show the next time it's on in Siamsa.

The dancing and singing told the story of the meitheal oibre who came together to reap the harvest as it was done by our ancestors long ago.

This multitalented performer edged his scythe with a whet stone. He also played the fiddle and sang the most moving rendition of "Ar Bhruach na Carraige Báine" I've heard in a long time.

This man brought the corn to thresh.

This implement is called a flail and it was used to beat the corn from the ears.

Every action was accompanied by dancing and the rhythmic music of the farm work as well as more traditional music played on the fiddle, the accordion and Uileann pipes.

A familiar face in the front row.

( more from Storied Kerry tomorrow)

An Anniversary Present, Tidy Town Visitors and a Concert to look forward to

This is the Marian grotto at O'Connell's Avenue, Listowel.

The grotto in context

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When it's your Anniversary and You're Married to an Artist

This lovely Athea couple, Jim and Liz Dunne, celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary recently.

This is Jim's anniversary card for Liz. Liz has the finest collection of Jim's artworks, one for every birthday and anniversary and for numerous other occasions as well.

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Footprints and Main Street

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Tidy Town Visitors

On Saturday October 20 I ran into my friends from the Tidy Town Committee in The Square . They were n't painting or picking up litter. They were hosting a delegation from Kilrush Tidy Towns. They were showing them around our lovely town and taking them round to visit their various projects.
Isn't that a lovely aspect of the Tidy Town movement. Everyone wants everyone else to do well and if one town can help another they will.

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A Concert in St. Mary's